Answers to Common Misconceptions About Cancer Pain Relief

1.Do not use painkillers as a last resort? If the pain is not effectively relieved for a long time, it will affect the patient’s sleep, appetite and reduce the patient’s resistance, which will give the tumor or the condition a chance to develop further. It is safer and more effective to take painkillers on time, and most of the pain can be well controlled by oral medication. 2, long-term use of narcotic painkillers will be “addictive”? Increasing the dose of medication means addiction? “Addiction” is characterized by a persistent desire to use opioids by any means necessary, not to relieve pain but to achieve a sense of euphoria. Morphine is safe and effective when used appropriately under medical supervision. A large number of clinical experiments have proved that mental dependence rarely occurs in patients who use morphine to treat severe cancer pain. Of the 10,000 cases of using morphine to treat cancer pain reported in foreign countries, none of them developed dependence. After taking opioids for a period of time, patients may need to increase the dosage of drugs, which is due to the increase of pain intensity or the development of drug tolerance, and is not a signal of “addiction”. 3. Once I use opioids, will I need them for the rest of my life? Morphine daily dose of 30 to 60mg, sudden stopping the drug will not happen accidentally, long-term high dose of drugs, sudden stopping the drug may appear withdrawal syndrome, should be gradually reduced to stop the drug. With the relief of the disease, the pain is reduced, morphine drug dose can be gradually reduced. 4. Does a higher morphine dose mean a more serious condition? Pain is a kind of personal “subjective” feeling, with significant differences, the same intensity of pain required by the dose of painkillers is not necessarily the same. Some patients need a large dose of morphine to achieve the purpose of pain control, therefore, the size of the morphine dose can not reflect the severity of the disease, not to mention the survival of the estimated length of time.